After NY, she continues on the road for a few more days before taking a month break. In March she's back on the road and playing the Savannah Stopover Festival before joining Hurray For The Riff Raff for a portion of their 2015 tour (NYC shows at MHOW and Bowery not included).

All tour dates are listed, along with a stream of just-released, new song "Sea of Sand" which she wrote while being "stranded" in Harlem during Hurricane Sandy, below...

According to Gothamist, to commemorate the reopening of Fort Tilden--closed since Hurricane Sandy--the National Park Service, Rockaway Artists Alliance, Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy and MoMa PS1 are teaming up to present the Rockaway Arts Fest, an event that will run from late June through Labor Day and feature work from local and "internationally acclaimed artists." Sounds like a good reason to head out to the beach, but here's a better one: to celebrate opening day, on June 29 at Fort Tilden's Gateway National Recreation Area, the organizers are hosting "Rockaway! Opening Day," a noon-8PM event that will be capped off by a free Patti Smith concert. There's also an afterparty planned at the Rockaway Beach Surf Club. More info as it becomes available.

UPDATE: Though the Gothamist article mentioned Patti was playing a concert, she's actually doing a short poetry reading. She also has as a photography exhibition and two onsite installations opening in the park that day.

We're coming up on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy which hit NYC on October 29. As you may remember, like most things in Red Hook, Norton Records' warehouse was hit hard. Thanks to the help of fans and volunteers, the label persevered and will celebrate the one-year anniversary of surviving the storm with a two-day "Norton Records Hurricane Sandy 1st Anniversary Blast" on November 15 & 16.

The November 15 show happens at Warsaw and features Flamin Groovies and The Sonics, with Daddy Long Legs and DJs Josh Styles and Todd-O-Phonic Todd. Tickets to that show are on sale now.

The November 16 show happens at Brooklyn Bowl and features Reigning Sound, La La Brooks, and The A-Bones with The Dirtbombs' Mick Collins, and Bloodshot Bill. The night ends with an edition of Soul Clap & Dance-Off and Tickets to that show are on sale as well.

Ten months after Hurricane Sandy swamped the place, much-loved Red Hook watering hole Sunny's finally reopened last (8/29) after friends, patrons, and neighbors helped raise over $100,000 to repair it. There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony and then the party began (they also celebrated co-owner Sunny Balzano's 79th birthday). which featured a performance from swing band Smokey's Round‑Up and The Secret Family.

Tonight at the bar, you can catch The Xylophone People. Welcome back, Sunny's!

The most intimate one happens in Brooklyn on September 11 at Music Hall of Williamsburg, and tickets for that one go on AmEx presale today at noon. All proceeds will benefit "burn treatment centers, plus research and treatment for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases." And since we last spoke, Brooklyn indie rockers DIIV were added to this one.

And tickets for their larger (but still small for their standards) show in NJ at Starland Ballroom (9/10) go on AmEx presale today at 9 AM. Proceeds from this one will support "Sandy Relief as well as cancer and diabetes research and treatment." You may remember that Starland Ballroom recently reopened after facing damages from Sandy.

Back in November we reported that NJ music venue Starland Ballroom, who had to cancel a lot of shows due to damage from Hurricane Sandy, was going to stay closed until at least Spring 2013. Spring is here and though they're being vague, the club just posted a video along with the message: "Thanks for all of your well-wishes, good vibes and hopes for recovery. It's finally time to talk about the future of the Starland Ballroom." The video doesn't offer much information but ends with "June 4, 2013." A commenter immediately asked the natural first question which is, "does this mean the announcement will be on June 4 or shows will start then?" Starland answered, "We'll just have to wait and see." Ok, we're waiting.

Check out a videos of Motorhead and Wu Tang Clan at Starland, below...

1) Registration for this year's Mermaid Parade is now open. Click here to register.

2) We do not know whether there will be a Mermaid Parade this year.

Don't panic just yet-we have a plan. But first I want you to understand where we are and what we're up against.

Our first parade back in 1983 had more participants than onlookers. It is because of you-whether you've been marching for years or are joining us for your maiden voyage-that the Mermaid Parade has grown into the largest arts parade in the country.

A Free Parade is Expensive

This year we face unprecedented challenges. As the crowds have grown over the past years, the city has begun imposing new regulations and restrictions that have sharply increased the cost of the event. On top of that, Hurricane Sandy, that malevolent sorceress, wreaked havoc on the Coney Island community. We as an organization, like many others, are still recovering from the damage. What this all means is that the Mermaid Parade now has a budget shortfall of $100,000. This is an impossible gap for a tiny non-profit arts organization like ours.

The Plan

On May 7th , we'll be launching a "Save the Mermaid Parade" Kickstarter campaign to raise $100,000 for the Parade. We'll be actively updating our website and sending out news and information as the campaign to "Save the Mermaid Parade" progresses.

Next week you will receive a link to our Kickstarter campaign. Once you have it, please spread the word. If we don't meet our funding goal, there'll be no parade.

Registration this year is more important than ever before, but we also need to ask for even more from you to preserve our beloved cultural institution. Be advocates. This is your parade - get on your bullhorns!

At the end of November we reported that Sunny's Bar in Red Hook was still closed and raising money to repait itself from Hurricane Sandy. Five months later and not too much has changed, from a high level at least...

Dear Friends,

An awful lot has happened since you heard from me last. We are finally able to forge ahead with the big fix in the basement! It has been surveyed, drawn, and is currently with the engineer. He came here early April with the contractor. The work is estimated to take one month, and we are optimistically hoping to have it done by the end of June.

To pay for the repair, we are launching a month long fundraising campaign. To kick it off, we're throwing a big old Sunny's party at the Bell-House, May 1st! Buy your tickets here, SunnysMaydayParty or at the door. Please copy and invite your friends! Can't wait to see you all.

Please share our link:
(http://igg.me/at/sunnys-red-hook/x/3042670) to our fundraising campaign with your friends and friends of Sunny's Bar. We can all be drinking together in a few short months with everyone's help.

Idolize has a bit of a storied history, considering the originally intentioned home for the recording, Translator Audio. As you may know, Translator Audio would later fall victim to Hurricane Sandy, but with it washed away the band's sessions as well as all of their gear. Luckily, Dave Curran of Unsane/Pigs was able to step in to set up recording sessions, which later came to fruition with Andrew Schneider at Seaside Lounge and Spaceman Sound studios.

Thankfully, Idolize, the band's second LP, will finally see the light of day on May 31 via Solar Flare. Stream the new track "Steven the Slow" below, and look out for a guest appearance from Dave from Unsane. By the way, you can help out Translator Audio by buying the new East of the Wall track... win/win!

That new track stream and a video that documents the band's trek to the US are below.

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, LIC Bar in (you guessed it) Long Island City was crushed by the storm. Luckily The Who was there to help. Now the bar is returning the favor:

After The Who donated more than $3,000 worth of sound equipment to help a Queens music venue get back on its feet following Superstorm Sandy, LIC Bar is now returning the favor by putting on a show to benefit the legendary rock group's charity.

The concert on Saturday will feature a tribute band and will raffle off a guitar signed by Pete Townshend to raise money for Teen Cancer America, which The Who launched in 2011.

"This is a show to let The Who know how grateful we are for their help," said the venue's owner, Brian Porter, 44. "It's still hard to believe rock icons came to our aid." -[NY Daily News]

Tickets are on sale for the show which happens Saturday (2/23) and features tribute act Who's Next. Coincidentally, the band has the night off that night and their tour hits Atlantic City the night before.

The folks at Dig Deeperdo an amazing job of shedding light on lost musical treasures from the '60s and '70s. They're presenting a couple cool ones coming up this spring. The first of which is a tribute to Marva Whitney (who played Dig Deeper not that long ago and died in December) featuring Renaldo Domino w/ the Brooklyn Rhythm Band which will happen at Littlefield on March 23. Tickets are $15 and will be on sale soon.

The second show falls outside of Dig Deeper's usually soul milleiu, but fits in with their crate-digging spirit. Seattle garage rock legends The Sonics will play The Bell House on April 13 with Rye Coallition (whose members have a new project, Cold Fur). The show is a benefit for Norton Records who are still struggling to regain their footing after their Red Hook offices and warehouse were flooded during Hurricane Sandy. You may remember that The Sonics last played NYC at the Norton Records 25th Anniversary in 2011. Tickets ($25) will be on sale soon.

We've seen lots of bands lately that cross over between punk (or pop punk) and indie scenes, and Brooklyn's Candy Hearts is one of those with a crossover audience. Their most recent release, The Best Ways to Disappear EP, came out last year via Bridge 9 Records and Violently Happy Records, and they have a full length in the works for this year. The EP is six tracks of charming lyrical pop punk that's sugary and clean around the edges, but frontwoman Mariel Loveland has attitude and is a very human songwriter. You can stream one of those tracks, "Bad Idea," at the bottom of this post.

Candy Hearts last played NYC in December when they were on tour with New Found Glory (whose guitarist Chad Gilbert produced the Candy Hearts EP and runs Violently Happy Records) but if seeing them with NFG isn't your thing, you might rather catch them at a small, sweaty show with other local DIY punk bands. They'll do just that when they headline a Hurricane Sandy benefit in Brooklyn on January 26 at The Grand Victory (245 Grand St) with Banquets, Model Home, Up For Nothing, and Sad and French. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Candy Hearts recently filmed a live acoustic video of "Miles & Interstates" for Property of Zack. You can watch that video and stream "Bad Idea" below...

Back in October, my pianist Jonas got stuck in New York after the city got hit by hurricane Sandy. The roads were flooded, flights were cancelled, even the Chinatown buses stood still. This was two days before our west coast tour was supposed to start. I decided to ask for your help. I asked if anyone would be able to drive him to Boston where I knew we could get him on a plane. In return I offered a little money and a song.

I was shocked when I checked my email a few minutes later and it was packed with people wanting to help. Shortly I had two girls on the case, Olivia and Maddy. I promised them a song for their job and so here it is. On the last day of the year .

It's of course a song for all of you who offered to help. And as I sing in the song, I didn't know I had such an army to mobilize. I wonder what else we can do? To start with, maybe I could get you to donate a few bucks to those directly affected by the hurricane itself.

Happy new year to all of you, I hope I get to see you soon..

Jens Lekman brings his special touch to his Hurricane Sandy themed song (he played NYC just before) which he posted on his website just before New Year's. You can download it above or stream it below (via CoS). Jens is gearing up for an Australian tour and those dates are listed below too.

Jane's Addiction are set to ring in the new year at Atlantic City's House of Blues tonight, and to warm up for that they came to NYC on Saturday (12/29) for a show at Terminal 5. They played a bit off of their late-period/reunion albums, but most of the set was split pretty evenly between the classic early albums with songs like "Mountain Song, "Jane Says," "Been Caught Stealing," and many others. During the set, Perry Farrell also brought out firefighters who aided in Hurricane Sandy recovery that he knew from his high school in Queens, where he grew up, and he gave a speech about being proud of the way New Yorkers handled the hurricane.

A video of Perry giving that speech after playing "Ted, Just Admit It...," plus some other videos, the setlist, and more pictures from the show below...

I was most excited to catch The Men and Lust for Youth. The latter's synth-propelled darkwave sounded excellent in the room at Vitus, though watching the pair play was far from a live spectacle. A band like this does extremely well in a setting like WIERD at Home Sweet Home, where lights, strobes and fog are all very common-place. Made me wish I caught them there.

The Men have changed quite a bit in the past few years, so while it wasn't shocking that the band came out with four acoustic guitars in hand given some of the softer-side of Open Your Heart, it was nonetheless a side I hadn't seen before. Gone is the bubbling undercurrent of hardcore (probably my favorite era- the Immaculada/Leave Home records), with most of the tracks slanted in a Replacements-y direction but with a bit of a twang due to the addition of accordion and Rhodes. The band has definitely gone in different directions from the days of sweaty, packed-out 538 Johnson shows (pics), and I gotta say I miss those good 'ole days.

Sleigh Bells with Grizzly Bear (who playedBowery earlier in the week), The Antlers and Cults played 4 Artists 1 Cause, a Hurricane Sandy benefit on Friday (2/14) at Terminal 5. According to reports from the Har Mar Superstar-hosted show, they raised somewhere in the neighborhood of $300k towards Sandy relief efforts. Pictures from that show are in this post below.

Richie Follin of Cults spent the next night (12/15) at Knitting Factory as part of Guards. Meanwhile, The Antlers are offering up an early holiday gift to fans in the form of a cello-driven cover of their song "No Windows" by their friend Brent Arnold. You stream that below, along with more pics from T5...

I can't tell you how many great bands I have seen over the years at Precious Metal at NYC club Lit Lounge on Mondays. The series, curated by Wetnurse/Today is the Day member Curran Reynolds, is responsible not only for the first appearances from some favorite bands but also many many personal friendships forged in that dingy basement. Now after more than six years as a series, Precious Metal is coming to an end:

Friends, I am proud to announce the Grand Finale of Precious Metal. After 6.66 years and over 300 events, the series I started in May of 2006 will come to an end on January 21, 2013.

We had a good run! Monday after Monday, we brought all sorts of heaviness from across the city and around the globe (Iceland, Italy, Australia...) into the den of Downtown grime and glamour that is Lit. These forces combined and added up to something special. I like to think we played a part in the resurgence of a New York City metal scene, one which now looks stronger than ever.

Upcoming events at Precious Metal include this Monday (12/17) with Tiger Flowers, Meek is Murder, I am Heresy and Black Table; January 7 with Ghostlimb & The Year is One and yours truly on DJ duties; January 14 with Jar'd Loose, Gentlemen, End it and DJ Mike SOS; and the finale on January 21, a benefit for South Sound featuring Hivesmasher, Fashion Week, Flaming Tusk, SOS and DJ Zeena Koda. Make sure and get to the shows and wave goodbye to metal in the Lit Lounge basement. It will be missed.

The 12/12/12 Hurricane Sandy benefit concert at Madison Square Garden went down last night and aired on multiple TV channels, websites, and in theaters worldwide. The concert featured performances by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Roger Waters (joined by Eddie Vedder), Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Chris Martin (joined by Michael Stipe), and Paul McCartney (joined by members of Nirvana). And in between there were speeches/appearances by Billy Crystal, John Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, P. Diddy, Chris Rock, and many more, spliced with footage of the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. (The less said about Adam Sandler's "funny" version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" with Paul Shaffer the better.) As was to be expected, the sets were short (though some longer than others) but it still ran late, ending after 1 AM. If you missed any of it, videos of some of the highlights are in this post.

Bruce Springsteen opened the show, getting everyone into the spirit of the night right away. Of all the sets, his choice of songs felt the most catered to the event ("Land of Hope and Dreams," "Wrecking Ball, "My City of Ruins," and of course also "Born to Run") and halfway in he prefaced "My City of Ruins" with a touching, personal speech about the damage done to the NY/NJ area, similar to the one he gave in Rochester in October.

Other highlights from throughout the show: Roger Waters ended his set by bringing out Eddie Vedder to sing lead on "Comfortably Numb." The Rolling Stones only got to play two songs ("You Got Me Rocking" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash") but still looked like they were having a great time. The Who, meanwhile, played seven songs. Then Kanye delivered a set which sent much of the twitterverse into an angry fit, though you have to wonder if this would have happened at a non-classic rock show (probably not). And of course, it was a pretty great surprise when Chris Martin brought out R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe to do "Losing My Religion."

But the most anticipated part of the night was that Nirvana reunion with Paul McCartney on vocals that everyone was talking about. Paul ended up bringing Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear out during his set to perform a new song they wrote, titled "Cut Me Some Slack," and then they left the stage and Paul returned to his own material. It would've been interesting to see those guys jam with Paul during "Helter Skelter" (which he opened with) or something, but at least Paul didn't sing "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

JANE PAIN: American label Sacred Bones is about to reissue Growing Seeds. How do you feel about the US? Why have you decided to write your songs in English and do you think it is significant at all? Are you looking forward to your upcoming American tour dates? What American bands/projects are you into right now? HANNES NORRVIDE (of Lust for Youth): I'm excited to visit US, I've only been there when I was very young. I'v met some really sweet people that are from the states so I hope the rest of US is like them, I don't know.
Well, writing in english feels more safe than writing in my native language. And of course I've listened to a lot of music my whole life which most have been in english so it got kind of natural.
I got this 12″ by Hieroglyphic Being, I really liked that one, Gatekeeper.

My Morning Jacket will join Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Joseph Arthur, Nicole Atkins, River City Extension, Tangiers Blues Band and special guests for a Hurricane Sandy Benefit at Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, NJ on January 2, 2013:

"Following Hurricane Katrina, the response from around the world was overwhelming," say Ben Jaffe, creative director of Preservation Hall Jazz Band. "Now it's our time to give back to a devastated community where many of our friends, family and supporters call home. In New Orleans, we turn to our music during hard times. It offers us hope and the feeling that things will be better. We are doing what we always do during hard times: celebrate life. Hopefully this will bring some joy to the residents of the devastated region at a time of great heartache."

If you didn't get tickets for the event, you're not alone, but you'll have many chances to view the "widely distributed event" from the comfort of your own home. The concert's website has a full list of the websites (YouTube, MSG.com, Hulu, iHeartRadio, Vevo, many more), US television channels (MSG, HBO, IFC, many more), international television channels, and movie theaters (many of which are in NY and NJ) that will be live streaming the show. Theaters in NYC and Brooklyn include Clearview's ChelseaCinemas (260 West 23 St) and National Amusements' Linden Boulevard (2784 Linden Blvd).

You can head below to check out the list of sites, TV channels, and theaters...

But what we didn't know, and The Sun is now reporting, Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl won't just both be at the show, they'll actually be performing together along with Dave's ex-Nirvana bandmate Krist Novoselic and NIrvana (touring)/Foo Fighters/Germs member Pat Smear. Despite multiple news headlines that are calling the show a NIrvana reunion with Paul McCartney, it doesn't explicitly say they'll be performing NIrvana material. It's been reported that they will perform a new song and Paul also suggested they "just make something up." Regarding the collaboration Paul said:

I didn't really know who they were. They are saying how good it is to be back together. I said 'Whoa? You guys haven't played together for all that time? And somebody whispered to me 'That's Nirvana. You're Kurt.' I couldn't believe it.

Raekwon was supposed to play West Side NYC club Stage 48 with Rakim on December 20 but that show has now been rescheduled for February 8. Tickets are still available. But for those who want to see the Wu-Tang member sooner, Raekwon will headline a Hurricane Sandy relief benefit for those affected on his home turf of Staten Island, performing at Jaguars 3 on 12/13 (225 E47th, Manhattan). $20 gets you in the door.

Head below for the show flyer, as well as a new freestyle featuring Raekwon over the classic "Who Shot Ya?" beat.

NEIL YOUNG: I was on the West Coast. Like everyone else, I was watching this on TV...

How did you arrive at the decision that you wanted to stage this benefit in Atlantic City?

I saw that I was invited to do a big benefit at Madison Square Garden. I saw that it was a star-studded television evening. And I realized that I was just a drop in the bucket. There was already enough star power at that thing to do whatever it could do. Adding me would not make any difference. But I did think that if I went down and had a performance where the damage was, that would be a different approach and whatever I was able to add, I could add. If people want to come and see us they can come right down to the scene and they can see what's left of the boardwalk. - [Wall Steet Journal]

Meanwhile, Trey Anastasio has rescheduled his Capitol Theatre shows that were cancelled due to Sandy. He'll now play the venue on January 23 and 24. Previously-purchased tickets will be honored on 1/23 and tickets to the 1/24 show go on sale Friday (12/14) at noon. Trey also plays Welmont Theatre on 1/25 and tickets to that show go on sale Friday at noon as well.

More pictures from the Borgata show as well as Neil's setlist (which has varied very little from show to show) are below.